Employees at Apple Annie’s Kitchen & Bakery in Roseville said they were inundated Wednesday by questions posed by customers and workers about the eatery’s future.

The Macomb Daily reported Wednesday on its digital edition that Apple Annie’s and the closed Sacred Heart Catholic Church located next door on Gratiot Avenue are being purchased by the Sheetz company, with plans to demolish both buildings this summer.

“It’s amazing how quickly word got out about this,” said manager Cathy Pagano. “Our customers are pretty disappointed.”

Roseville city officials confirmed both the vacant house of worship and Apple Annie’s will be torn down to make way for a multi-million dollar Sheetz gas station and convenience store on Gratiot Avenue between Utica and Martin roads.

Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit, also confirmed the Sacred Heart building is under contract with a potential buyer. That’s presumably Sheetz, although she did not identify it by name.

“Plans have already been submitted and were approved by our planning commission,” Roseville City Manager Ryan Monroe said via email. “We expect the project to be begin by late summer of this year.”

Nick Ruffner, public affairs manager for Sheetz, said the company is excited about joining the Roseville community.

“Given that the building located at this site has been abandoned for several years, we are working with local officials to stimulate economic growth, create meaningful jobs, and bring new opportunities to the area,” Ruffner said in a statement.

Ruffner went on to say Sheetz’s goal with every store is to create a project that positively impacts the community and becomes a source of pride for residents.

“As we continue to collaborate with municipal officials on this site, we are committed to adhering to responsible development practices, ensuring this project complements its surrounding communities and honors the legacy of the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church,” he said.

The Roseville Planning Commission approved a site plan for the project at their Feb. 3 meeting, planning documents show. No further approvals are needed from the commission or City Council, Monroe said, as the site doesn’t require rezoning or a variance.

In many of the communities Sheetz has applied in, the developments have run into opposition from residents who fear increased traffic and other problems about the potential sites, as well as from existing gas station owners. The Roseville site is one block away from a Speedway gas station and just north of a busy Costco station.

Robert Taylor, the longtime mayor of Roseville, declined comment on the development.

According to Planning Commission documents, the property is legally owned by St. Pio of Pietrelcina and RPR Development, LLC. St. Pio is overseen by the Archdiocese of Detroit.

State corporation records list the address for RPR Development as Apple Annie’s, with commercial real estate broker Daniel Rubino — co-owner of the eatery — named as the agent.

Rubino said Wednesday the owners are concerned about their employees but added he is considering looking for space for a new restaurant somewhere in Roseville. He noted many small businesses have job openings they can’t fill.

“We are concerned about keeping our employees on staff right now because everyone is having such a hard time keeping their workforce employed,” he said.

Pagano, who is married to Apple Annie’s co-owner Len Pagano, said she plans to meet with the full staff on Thursday to answer questions and address their concerns.

“We are like a family here,” she said. “A lot of our people have been here for about 20 years. They’ve been here a long time.”

Sheetz interested in Gratiot location

Based in Altoona, Pa., Sheetz is a family-owned, regional chain with stores primarily located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. It is developing other gas stations in southeast Michigan, including several in Macomb County.

The petitioner for the Sheetz project is listed as MC Development, which corporation documents show is headed by Skilken Gold, the Columbus, Ohio firm that has helped the Pennsylvania brand open dozens of locations in the United States.

Sheetz will be open 24/7, and would have a convenience store and gas pumps, along with a drive-thru and outdoor cafe. An artist’s rendering of the proposed gas station shows the typical Sheetz model of brick buildings being used to house the development.

Clinton Township attorney Robert Kirk, who represented Sheetz at the local level in the Roseville project, said the company has been examining the property since January 2024. But, he added, Sheetz hasn’t formally closed on the deal yet.

The Roseville location would be the company’s second on Gratiot. Late last year, Sheetz won approval from Macomb Township officials to build a gas station on Gratiot at Hall Road.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a pillar of the Roseville community for decades, was closed in 2017 in a consolidation plan inspired by declining attendance and related finances. Since then, the church property has become dilapidated, with bricks falling from the crumbling structure and trash scattered behind an outdoor wall and elsewhere.

Monroe, the city manager, said city officials are discussing some sort of tribute or acknowledgement of the Sacred Heart community will remain at the site.

“However, nothing is confirmed at this time,” he said.

Previous attempts in recent years to sell and develop the church land have failed.

Brighton-based Roseville Storage officials attempted in 2020 to buy the property with plans for a $9 million self-storage facility. However, when the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdowns came that spring, the company pulled out. In the meantime, the costs of most construction projects escalated and other developers lost interest.

In July 2023, Roseville Storage made a second attempt to develop the church with another effort to turn Sacred Heart Catholic Church into a self-storage facility that includes preserving the historic building. But both times, the developer withdrew from the project.

There was a large public outcry over the church’s closure in 2017 and more when word leaked out about it being replaced by a self-storage facility. Supporters had their hopes renewed to save the building when news broke that the storage plan had fallen through.

The Roseville City Council voted in January 2024 to rezone the property in an effort to boost the chances of selling the trash-filled site.

This time around, the Sheetz developers have included the northeast corner of Gratiot and Martin, which includes the Apple Annie’s restaurant, into the mix. Apple Annie’s has been a mainstay along Gratiot going as far back as the 1990s, serving a variety of soups, deli sandwiches, dinners, and baked goods.

Local artist Edward “Gonzo” Stross, whose art studio is located across from Sacred Heart on Gratiot, wrote about the site on his Facebook page on Tuesday. He told The Macomb Daily Roseville officials are interested in whatever tax revenue Sheetz will generate through its Downtown Development Authority.

“The people of this city do not want it in our downtown neighborhood,” Stross said. “The DDA captures money that would normally go to Lansing to create a downtown. A huge gas station isn’t downtown related, so not to be fraudulent, the City of Roseville must return those tax dollars to Lansing or be prosecuted for racketeering.”

Despite opposition to the stores, Sheetz hopes to open 50 to 60 new locations in Southeast Michigan over the next six years.

In Macomb County, locations are planned for Chesterfield Township, Eastpointe, Fraser, two in Macomb Township, and two in Warren.